Rattlesnake master: Virginia's June wildflower of the month

Virginia June wildflower

Courtesy Helen Hamilton

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) (Courtesy Helen Hamilton)

Rattlesnake master, or Eryngium yuccifolium, is an unmistakable bluish perennial plant with spiny-edged, yucca-like leaves and round heads of tiny five-parted florets, often concealed by green bracts. The leaves are mostly found at the base of the plant, and reduced on the stem.

Growing to 3 feet tall, rattlesnakemaster is a good plant for the back of a perennial border, or in a meadow.Their spiny leaves make walking through clumps of these plants difficult, and also make them unpalatable to grazing livestock. The flower and seedheads last a long time and are good for indoor floral arrangements.

Found in woods and open places in wet or dry soil, thickets and prairies, from Minnesota east to New Jersey, and south, rattlesnake-master is native in Virginia mostly to south-central counties.

It's cold hard to Zone 4, making it versatile in many gardening areas.

American Indians used the root as a poultice for snakebites and many other disorders; traditionally, root tincture was used as a diuretic, and also for female reproductive disorders. Chewing the root increases saliva flow.